


Feels Like Summer

by kiraisstillhere



Series: AFTG Summer 2020 [3]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: AFTG Summer 2020, Beach Day, Day At The Beach, Engaged Allison Reynolds/Seth Gordon, Gen, Minor Aaron Minyard/Katelyn (All For The Game), Minor Kevin Day/Thea Muldani, Minor Matt Boyd/Danielle “Dan” Wilds, Minor Nicky Hemmick/Erik Klose - Freeform, Summer, Summer Vacation, Trans Aaron Minyard, aftg summer, i want them to love and care about each other okay, the foxes are just having team bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:15:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25777228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiraisstillhere/pseuds/kiraisstillhere
Summary: The Foxes take a beach trip for some team bonding!featuring engaged allison and seth, kevin day having a real smile, and andreil being soft
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Seth Gordon/Allison Reynolds
Series: AFTG Summer 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1863595
Kudos: 40
Collections: AFTG Summer 2020





	Feels Like Summer

**Author's Note:**

> for AFTG Summer 2020! August 5th/Day Three: Beach Day
> 
> once again, thank you so, so much to [andre](https://twitter.com/chbvnny/) for organizing this!!
> 
> title is from [feels like summer](https://open.spotify.com/track/2jz1bw1p0WQj0PDnVDP0uY?si=Om_BPS_5TfCunMRaRAZxGg) by weezer
> 
> i know i'm a few days behind, but better late than never, right?

Allison had stayed up all night texting Seth, creating her plan of attack. She wanted to suggest that the Foxes actually take a moment for summer break and go somewhere. In reaction to Neil’s freshman year, the team tried to do team bonding, with everything from board game nights to going to Eden’s together. The club nights were some of Allison’s favorites, after she got accustomed to the group previously known only as the Monsters. She loved dressing up, and those nights gave her the excuse to amplify her already shiny, sequined wardrobe even more. Some of her favorite discoveries made while partying with their part of the team were easy to list: Nicky always got starry-eyed while talking about Erik, Aaron was better at holding his alcohol than Andrew, and - her personal favorite - Kevin was scarily good at throwing it back when he was a few shots in.

Those nights had lead to a much more cohesive team as a whole, and cemented the Foxes as a team to be reckoned with. Now, Allison wanted to take it to the next level - it was summer break, practices didn’t start for a few more weeks, and they could all use a change of scenery. She had already planned to go to California to see Seth anyway; it wasn’t hard convincing him that the rest of the Foxes should come along as well. He missed the team, and he wholeheartedly agreed that he and Allison could still have…  _ alone time _ , if they needed.

After a lengthy discussion that involved lots of complaints from Kevin about ruining their exy diets, Andrew and Aaron taking time away from the group to ask Betsy what they should do, and Neil explaining that he wasn’t a fan of the California coast but that he was willing to try, Allison found herself in the passenger seat of a rental car, directing Dan towards the exit for their hotel.

The rentals had been the best way to go, because Matt’s pickup truck was sketchy at best on long trips, and Kevin had complained about being in the Maserati for the long drive, telling Andrew  _ I don’t want to be in your small-ass car for three days _ . His frustration was met with Andrew’s sentiment of  _ Fittingly, I don’t want you in my car for three days _ . It took Neil, Aaron, and a bottle of whiskey from Wymack to convince Andrew to leave the Maserati in Wymack and Abby’s driveway.

“I don’t think they’re behind us,” Matt said turning around to face forward in his spot in the backseat, just a bit of worry in his voice. “Do you think they’ll be okay?”

There was a sliding sound as Renee twisted to look out the back window as well and then go back to her regular position.

“Merge here,” Allison said, glancing in the rearview mirror at Renee.

Renee had one of her confident smiles on her face. “I’m sure they’ll be fine,” she reassured the car. “They’ll figure things out. They always do.”

“Won’t be surprised if someone shows up with a black eye,” Dan tossed in as she glanced over her shoulder before changing lanes. “They’re all rather unorthodox way in their way of problem solving.”

Half an hour later, the upperclassmen were stretching in the hotel parking lot, finally free from the confines of the rental. Allison stepped away from their little group to call Seth, excited to see her fiancé after a long semester. Thank god for video calls, she missed her man.

He picked up after the third ring, yawning while he rubbed his eyes.

She smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Did I wake you up?”

“Just an afternoon nap that went on a little too long, don’t worry about it.” He gave her one of his confident smiles and let out a small grunt as he pushed himself up from his mattress to his elbows. He reached off-screen for a moment, his face disappearing. Allison would be lying if she said that she wasn’t admiring him.

Seth had been through a lot. After Riko’s attempt on his life, he had worked his ass off to get clean. Allison remembered a lot of nights spent sitting in the parking lot of Fox Tower, bundled in blankets and sweatshirts while he cried the first real tears she’d ever seen from him. After a season that included the demise of the Ravens, the development of Andrew and Neil’s…  _ whatever _ thing that they had, and a round of finals that resulted in Allison having a lot of unnecessary knowledge about mushrooms, Seth had graduated with his degree in tourism, parks, and recreation.

And now, he was sitting in his room, in a cabin in Yosemite, with a terrible farmer’s tan from his ranger uniform and a few more tattoos than he’d had in college.

He came back into view, tucking his hair underneath a backwards baseball cap.

Allison giggled, feeling her eyes crinkle at the corners. He’d always been the only person who could make her smile like that. “Your hair is getting shaggy,” she said.

“I’m going to become a real mountain man,” he said proudly as he readjusted his hat again, combing his fingers through his hair with a smile while getting comfortable. “You’ll be able to braid it, and I’ll steal all your scrunchies.”

She mocked a gasp. “Not my scrunchies! Whatever will I do?”

The two of them devolved into laughter, Seth’s big belly laugh making the phone’s speakers crackle a little.

“I’m excited to see you tomorrow, darlin’,” he said, letting his smooth Southern accent slip in for the nickname. His brown eyes had softened in the past year, no longer the hardened brownstone brick that she was so used to.

By this point, Allison was certain that her face was going to stick with a smile permanently ingrained on it. She found that she didn’t mind the thought.

“We’re gonna be real cute, Ally. I’ll hold your hand on the beach and we’ll share cotton candy and you’re gonna get frustrated with me for not wearing enough sunscreen.”

“You’re starting to sound Southern again, are you trying to sweeten me up?”

He paused his list of all the grossly adorable things that they could do on the beach, his biggest smile yet on his face. “Is it working?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow up. “Or do I have to throw in a late night pizza and movie session in the hotel later?”

Allison tapped her chin with a pink-painted nail while she thought. “Maybe. We’ll find out tomorrow.”

Seth’s face lit up even more, and Allison wondered if his cheeks were going to be sore.

The other two rental cars pulled into the hotel’s parking lot. The first was being driven by Andrew, who looked like he was going to become well-acquainted with the hotel’s punching bag as soon as he got his room key. That, or the hotel’s vending machine. Allison knew that she’d won the latest bet among the upperclassmen, since no passenger meant that Andrew had banished Neil and Kevin to the backseat to battle out whatever pro-team argument they had probably fallen into.

In the other car, Katelyn rolled down the driver’s window to wave to Allison, a bright smile on her face. With a smile like that, Allison could see how Aaron had fallen for her. She could also see how Aaron had fallen asleep in the passenger seat, and Nicky’s sleeping figure stretched across the backseat.

Allison gave a little wave back to Katelyn before turning her attention back to Seth. “I gotta go, babes, I love you lots, I’ll see you tomorrow morning?”

“Of course, baby girl, I can’t wait! Love you lots!”

He blew a kiss at her and gave a wave before hanging up.

\--

Kevin was on his third cup of coffee that morning and  _ still _ couldn’t stop yawning. While eight in the morning wasn’t the asscrack of dawn by any means, Neil had taken up his precious sleeping time by explaining the intricacies of a football movie about team bonding that Matt had shown him a few nights before they’d all set out for vacation. 

Now, he was in the middle of the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, mentally lamenting the fact that he had been duped by Renee into eating a mound of garlic fries while the rest of the Foxes slowly migrated back to their table with containers of food from the rainbow of stands that decorated part of the concrete walk.

“You know,” Kevin said, breaking the silence that he and Renee had fallen into. He looked around at the roller coasters and cheap, money-stealing carnival games, all with the expanse of grey ocean as a glittering backdrop. “I think Thea would like it here.”

Renee looked at him, tilting her head a little to the side. “Really?”

Kevin felt a dopey smile forming. “She’s always been a fan of high-energy things. She’d love all the roller coasters that Nicky made us go on today.”

Thea was one of the few constants in Kevin’s life that he was sure he loved. She had a smile that could melt hearts in moments, and Kevin didn’t think he ever wanted his to be solid again.

“You should take her here sometime,” Renee said around a bite of fries. “Maybe a fun trip for the two of you?”

“Maybe,” Kevin agreed. 

Allison had sprung this trip on the team with a giant smile on her face, and Kevin was proud to say that he’d only put up a minimal fight before conceding that it would be fun to take a team trip that wasn’t to the cabin in the snow. He’d still never been skiing, but only because they spent most of the time getting into snowball fights in the backyard instead of going out to the hills. Matt swore they would, but being together was already fun as it was anyway.

He and Renee sat a few minutes longer. Now that he’d thought of her, Kevin was texting Thea blurry pictures of the ocean and concession stands around him. He tried to take a selfie the way Allison had taught him to, but it was too much in the end, and he asked Renee to take one for him instead.

As the rest of the team got closer to the table, Allison and Seth took up the bench next to Renee, sharing a plate of what looked like Chinese food of some sort.

“Hey, Kevin,” Seth said, his laid-back voice matching everything else about his style. From his backwards baseball cap, to his mid-thigh board shorts and “I Hiked Half-Dome” muscle shirt that showed off his horrific farmer’s tan, he looked relaxed, like he belonged on the California coast. “How’s it going? Feel a little more awake than you did on the drive from the hotel?”

“My diet is ruined,” Kevin whined in response. He cursed his weak morale as he grabbed another one of the fries. 

Nicky laughed behind him, coming up and sliding onto the bench of the table next to Kevin. “You can go back to eating boiled chicken in a week, you’re supposed to  _ enjoy _ a vacation, Kevin.”

Kevin watched as he dug into a bowl of chicken and rice that was definitely more sauce than anything else. How the Minyard-Hemmick trio managed to pack away so much food was a mystery that would probably remain unsolved for eternity.

\--

The day was slowing down, finally reaching that comfortable point where it wasn’t particularly hot, but the sun was still shining without worry of clouds. Neil had been many places in his life, and a beach on the California coast wasn’t exactly something that did it for Neil. Allison had run it by him once or twice during finals week, and she had vocal that they could all go somewhere else if he didn’t want to try the beach so soon. Her big point had been that she wanted to go as a team.

Andrew had all but emptied the party-sized bag of chips between them, and Neil was making his way through the last few as he took in hs surroundings.

The wooden roller coaster behind them was rumbling, the screams of its excited passengers loud enough to be heard even from the sand. Nicky had persuaded all but Andrew to ride it, leaving him to sit on a bench near the exit to wait for everyone. 

Down in the water, away from the blankets and shades they’d set up, Dan and Matt were splashing at Renee and Kevin in some sort of weird pseudo-water fight. Kevin tried to shield Renee, and Neil made a mental note to tell Thea that Kevin did, in fact, have a real smile. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen it, but watching the great Kevin Day just being a twenty-something was a moment to be remembered.

A few feet away, Seth and Allison lay together on a towel in the sun, and Neil was sure that they were holding hands. They hadn’t let go since that morning, only stopping when Seth had to drive. He’d never seen the two of them so content before, just absorbing the fact that they were together.

To his other side, Katelyn was taking pictures of Aaron beneath a separate shade. She’d been the only one with enough sense to bring a camp chair, and was currently making Aaron pose on it for “memories”. Neil could hear her trying to explain that Aaron needed to stop looking so high-strung and just smile for the camera, while he complained about wanting to just hold her already. The vacation was his first big outing since his surgery, and Katelyn seemed hellbent on getting as many photos as possible.

Behind him, Neil heard Nicky talking to Erik in German, gloating to him about the sun and the sand and how they were absolutely going to visit together someday. The genuine happiness that he exuded was something that Neil was still getting used to, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

The expensive sunglasses that Andrew had given Neil were sliding down his nose and his hair was falling into his eyes, so he pushed the glasses up, effectively killing two birds with one stone. Next to him, Andrew shifted a little in his sleep, and Neil glanced down as he heard a small grunt. 

Andrew was sleeping, using his arm as a pillow to prop his head from behind. Neil would never admit it, but he was looking forward to poking fun at the tan lines that their arm bands had given them later. In a rare case of public affection, Andrew had interlocked his fingers over the top of Neil’s hand and had pulled it to his chest, holding it over his heart while he napped.

Their hands were getting sweaty, but Neil didn’t dare pull away. Instead, he sat, and he observed. He’d been through a lot, he really had. The coast had never been his favorite place - nothing good had ever happened when he was by the water. But right now, with Andrew at his side, his team - his  _ friends _ \- around him, the low tide lapping at the sand, and the gulls squawking overhead, Neil decided that beaches weren’t always bad.

**Author's Note:**

> come yell with me about aftg on [twitter](https://twitter.com/cybbetta) and [tumblr](https://www.alvarezforthegame.tumblr.com)


End file.
